The long-planned purchase expands the Wapatequa Woods Reservation, provides aquifer protection for the town of Tisbury and a greenbelt for residential neighborhoods. The land bank paid $1.5 million for the property.

Already under pressure for the lengthy pace of its development reviews, the Martha’s Vineyard Commission has come under heightened scrutiny in Island towns over its budget for next year. Staff salary increases and soaring legal expenses have led to a 10 per cent increase in the commission’s budget, with some town assessments going up more than 14 per cent.

And as they prepare their own annual town budgets for the coming year, four of the six Vineyard towns are registering strong concerns about spending at the commission.

In a strongly-worded letter, the committee cited “lack of clear management, focus and prioritization,” as reasons for not recommending the $1.45 million budget. The town has requested an immediate meeting with the MVC executive director.

The financially-strapped Vineyard Nursing Association has signed an agreement to sell its operations on both Islands to Cape Cod Healthcare, a large consortium that owns a visiting nurse agency.

The Island's only Medicare-certified home health agency has been struggling financially and has agreed to sell its operations to Cape Cod Health Care.

The longtime West Tisbury resident wore many hats but was best known in recent years for his role as a self-appointed watchdog of Island politics, especially in his home town.

The gift of 17 small parcels valued at $3.7 million represents an important conservation gain in the rare heathlands of Aquinnah, conservation leaders said.

The 1,000-foot crescent of sand that lies south of the Lagoon Pond Bridge came as an early Christmas present for the Martha's Vineyard Land Bank, where outright gifts of land are rare.

Announced Monday, the news from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was hailed as a boost to protection efforts for the critically endangered right whales.

Facing a severe revenue shortfall, the Vineyard Nursing Association is on track to end the year with a large and unsustainable operating loss, leaders at the Island’s only home health care agency told the Gazette this week.